Hybrid View

Scary looking kitty fight here: Normal behavior?

You know, most of the time my girls are great friends, but sometimes they chase each other and wrestle; no big deal actually. Usually it's Lily who goes after Luna.

Tonight, I heard Luna hissing, and when I looked, I saw them on the floor, Lily on Luna's back with her arms around her, and her teeth were in the left side of her neck! Obviously Luna was in pain, because she hissed again, before she came free. She's obviously not hurt (she has a thick fur), but it looked scary what Lily did. And I think it's not the first time she did that, because I heard Luna hissing before, and sometimes I find fur on the floor.

What do you think about this? Is this neck biting thing still a normal behavior to test and train their skills, or is it a sign of aggression/domination?

I think its fairly normal play.
If not Scrappy 2,would be sporting a lot of wounds,as she is an instigator who starts a lot of scraps.
And they snap at her,but alls well,as they are always curled together at the end of the day.

Sounds like my house 24/7. Josie & Brodie play so hard like this! I used to think that Josie was getting hurt because she's the one that hisses & growls her head off while they play . . . but later I realized that most of the time, Josie is the one that instigates their "games" . . . LOL . . . and yes, we have tufts of hair laying all over our floor. I really don't think you have anything to worry about. Your precious angels have just learned a new game and they LOVE it!!!

My advice, just keep their nails trimmed. If Josie & Brodie's nails are sharp, you can actually hear them when they smack each other. I keep them trimmed short so neither has the advantage.

Sounds normal to me - Mishi does this to Mitzi who has the thickest fur in the world. Nothing can get through that wooly pelt, although the sounds she makes when he's wrestling with her can sound scary, no blood has ever been shed and then a few minutes later they're grooming each other.

Little Ms. Mitzi Mitts
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In memory of my beloved fur children, Goldie, Mishi and Mitzi.
Rest in peace and play hard at the Rainbow Bridge.
Goldie: 9/5/88 - 4/10/03
Mishi: with us from 5/5/03 - 7/13/07
Mitzi: with us from 4/19/03 - 1/23/10

Yes, I think it is normal. Yesterday morning a "fight" started, with whom I don't know, but it ended up with Fluffy (about 7 pounds) jumping on and biting Rusty (about 20 pounds). It was over in a matter of seconds and later they were resting side by side. Scary when it happens though.

Thanks so much kittycats_delight for the beautiful siggy and avatar of my kids!